In the basement, Poppy was sitting on the ground with her back against the wall and her arms wrapped around her legs while Kissy Missy sat next to her, petting her head with her right hand.
The duo heard the door above open, which surprised them, before it closed. As the steps grew louder, Kissy Missy stared at the stairs through the opening with a slight growl while Poppy was worried.
Soon after, the duo saw the group reach the bottom of the stairs, which surprised them. "You've returned," Poppy said, lowly.
Michelle approached the door and looked at the duo through the opening. "You OK?" she asked, lowly, before glancing at the stairs. "While we were looking for your cell's key, we heard Lily yelling at you from a different Glowby..."
Poppy looked down before nodding. "Yes, I'm fine..." she whispered as Kissy Missy wrapped her arms around her before lifting her and placing her in her lap. "Kissy comforted me afterward..."
Michelle hummed a bit as Poppy looked at her. "Did you find a way to free us?" she asked, lowly.
Michelle nodded as she held the key up in her left hand. "We found this key in Lily's room," she whispered.
In the living room, Lily Lovebraids opened the door with one of her braids before she placed her feet on the ground. "I've checked almost every single room in this place, and not one of them was inside," she said.
Lily Lovebraids approached the door on the left as one of her braids grabbed the doorknob and twisted it before opening it. "Getting your cell open is gonna take some time, especially with Lily's hair tied against the locket," a female voice whispered, which surprised her.
Lily Lovebraids turned her head toward the door on the left. "Please be patient with us; we'll find a way to burn it," the female voice whispered.
Lily Lovebraids stared at the door. "Please hurry..." a different female voice whispered, which made her eyes slightly bloodshot.
In the basement, Katelynn turned her head to the back and spotted a lever connected to a deactivated electric panel before approaching it.
When Katelynn was close to the lever, she grabbed the handle before pulling it down, activating the electric panel. "This panel definitely plays a part in something..." she said, lowly.
Yarnaby sniffed the air before turning to the stairs with a growl, which made the others look at him. "Yarnaby?" Michelle asked, lowly.
Huggy Wuggy sniffed the air before angrily looking at the stairs. "Lily..." he whispered with a slight growl.
CatNap's ears pointed back. "Not good; this area doesn't have many hiding spots," he whispered.
Michelle turned her head to the back and noticed the wall was slightly moved before turning to it. "Maybe so, but it also has secrets of its own," she whispered, which made the group look at her as she pointed at it. "That wall can move."
Mommy Long Legs nodded before looking at the wall. "Leave it to me," she whispered as she stretched her arm toward it before carefully pushing against it, revealing a slightly larger room with blue pipes, a door on the right, and a Lily Lovebraids cutout.
CatNap approached the open wall and looked through the gap. "The area looks a little cramped, but we don't have much of a choice," he whispered before going through it.
As Huggy Wuggy and Yarnaby approached the opening and entered the room, CatNap stood on his back legs.
As CatNap backed away, his tail accidentally pressed the cutout's button, which made him flinch. "What you do with your hair... Why that's creativity and—" it was cut off when his tail pushed it to the ground before he stomped it against his back right paw hard, destroying it. "Enough of your blabber..."
CatNap looked at the wall above the door and noticed a yellow star on the corner before placing his paw against it and carefully pushing it open, revealing a room behind the door with a deactivated panel connected to a power socket near the ground and two buttons covered by cases.
CatNap stared at the room before turning his head to the opening. "There's a panel in a different room, but it needs power," he said, lowly.
As Doey and Katelynn approached the opening and entered the room, Mommy Long Legs lowered her right hand near Michelle. "That way it won't be crowded once we're inside and you can reach that other room with ease," she whispered.
Michelle nodded. "Good idea," she whispered as she climbed onto Mommy Long Legs's hand before wrapping her left arm around her thumb.
As Mommy Long Legs lifted her right hand, Michelle aimed her right arm at the electric panel before the Conductive Hand shot from her wrist and touched it, powering it up.
After the Conductive Hand retracted back to Michelle's wrist, Mommy Long Legs quickly entered the cramped room, which made Doey and Katelynn push the wall closed. "Now she won't see us if she comes in here," Doey whispered.
Mommy Long Legs stretched her hand toward the opening, which made Michelle jump through it, and the air jets on her shoe braces activated before she landed on the ground.
Michelle aimed her right arm at the power socket before the Conductive Hand shot from her wrist and touched it, powering the panel above and opening the buttons' cases. "Perfect," she said, lowly.
After the Conductive Hand retracted back to Michelle's wrist, she looked at the vent opening before crouching and crawling inside it.
When Michelle turned right, she saw Poppy Gel covering the vent grille and a mini DogDay corpse under it. "I'll need to freeze that, but that's gonna make a lot of noise..." she whispered before turning around and crawling forward.
After Michelle got out of the vent and stood up, she looked up and saw that the panel was a heat panel.
When Michelle looked at the buttons, she noticed the words 'HOT' on the left one and 'COLD' on the right one. "I get it, these buttons switch the panel above me between hot and cold," she said, lowly, before looking at the button on the right and approaching it. "So if I press this one..."
When Michelle was close to the button on the right, she pressed it, switching the heat panel to a chill panel. "That's what I need for that Poppy Gel," she continued before aiming her right arm at it.
The Conductive Hand shot from Michelle's wrist and touched the chill panel, powering it up. After the Conductive Hand retracted back to Michelle's wrist, she quickly approached the vent opening before crouching and crawling inside it.
When Michelle turned right and saw the Poppy Gel, she aimed her right arm at it. The Conductive Hand shot from Michelle's wrist and touched the Poppy Gel, freezing it, before it retracted back to her wrist. "Now for the Pressure Hand..." she whispered before twisting the knob with her left thumb and finger.
The Conductive Hand retracted inside Michelle's arm, and the Pressure Hand appeared before she aimed her right arm at the ice. The Pressure Hand shot from Michelle's wrist and touched the ice before the pressure gauge started going up.
When the pressure gauge was in the red, Michelle retracted the Pressure Hand back to her wrist, shattering the ice in the process. "What's going down there?!" Lily Lovebraids shouted, which made her flinch and carefully cover her mouth with her right hand.
As Michelle quietly crawled toward the vent grille, she saw Lily Lovebraids with one of her braids holding Candy Cat's head go down the stairs. "Maybe Dolly Grub was trying to help us..." Lily Lovebraids said in a lower-pitch voice before gasping a bit. "How sweet of her, but she didn't have to do that..."
When Lily Lovebraids was near the door, she glared through the opening. "What is all the fuss down here?" she asked. "I could've sworn I heard you 'chitter-chattering'..."
Kissy Missy held Poppy close to her as Lily Lovebraids walked away from the door and approached the stairs. "I think they're plotting an escape," she said in a lower-pitch voice.
Lily Lovebraids looked at Candy Cat's head with an angry laugh as she climbed the stairs. "Oh ho... of course they aren't," she said. "They can't leave... before... the party."
When Lily Lovebraids was out of sight, Kissy Missy let out a sigh of relief as Poppy looked at the opening. "She's gone..." she whispered.
Michelle pulled her right hand away from her mouth before placing her hand against the vent grille and pushing it open. "I don't know what she's planning, but we need to leave..." Poppy continued.
Michelle turned her head to the door's opening. "Don't worry, we found an ideal route for us to escape," she said.
Poppy remained silent and looked down as Kissy Missy lifted her before placing her on the ground. "Just sit tight, and I'll burn that hair covering the lock," Michelle continued as she turned around and crawled forward before turning left.
After Michelle got out of the vent and stood up, she approached the button on the left. "Lily's not in here anymore; it's safe to come out," she said before pressing it, switching the chill panel to the heat panel.
As Michelle heard the wall on the other side being pushed, she twisted the knob with her left thumb and finger, retracting the Pressure Hand inside her arm, and the Conductive Hand appeared before she aimed at the heat panel.
The Conductive Hand shot from Michelle's wrist and touched the heat panel, powering it up. After the Conductive Hand retracted back to Michelle's wrist, she quickly approached the vent opening and crouched before quickly crawling inside and turning right.
As the group got out of the cramped room, Michelle got out of the vent opening and stood up before quickly approaching the door.
Poppy looked at Michelle through the opening as she grabbed the hair with her right hand, burning it to ashes, before looking down. "Misha..." she said, lowly. "Did you ever wonder why the front doors to the factory were never locked to begin with?"
Michelle sighed. "Is now really the time to ask that—" she stopped midsentence when she looked through the opening and noticed Poppy's frown, which surprised her.
Michelle looked down before looking at the lock. "It definitely wasn't normal that the front doors were unlocked," she continued.
Michelle put the key inside the lock. "I thought a couple of dumbass thieves busted it open and tried to steal something valuable inside, only for them to get eaten by Huggy," she said.
The group gathered around Michelle as she twisted the key before looking at Poppy through the opening. "But based on your expression... it's probably correlated to why you wanted all of the toys in this place to die instead of escaping it," she continued.
As Michelle pulled the key out of the lock, the halves fell in different directions before she tossed it near the vent opening and grabbed the doorknob. "Am I right?" she asked before twisting it.
As Michelle opened the door, Kissy Missy stood up before she and Poppy got out of their cell. "Yes... you're right..." Poppy said, lowly.
Michelle stared at Poppy before letting go of the doorknob and approaching her. When Michelle was close to Poppy, she knelt to her level. "I know this is a painful topic, but I need you to be honest with me..." she said, which made her look at her. "How much did you really know about the Hour of Joy?"
Poppy remained silent before turning away with a frown. "I knew about the Hour of Joy before it even began..." she said, lowly.
The group remained silent. "The Prototype, he... he told me about his plan two years before the Hour of Joy..." Poppy continued. "He worded it to sound like we could escape this place and that only the guilty would be punished... while I didn't share his goals, I still agreed to it..."
Poppy wrapped her arms around herself with a horrified expression. "But on that day... not only were they killing the guilty, but they were also killing the innocent too... it wasn't what I wanted..." she said.
Kissy Missy made sad chirps. "Kissy and I tried to leave through the front door, but the Prototype stopped us..." Poppy continued. "He told us that if we stepped out of this building... there would be others who would experiment on us as well and try to create more toys like us..."
Poppy trembled. "And even though I hated him for lying to me... I also knew that he was right..." she said. "We could never leave this place if we wanted to... everyone knows that fact."
Michelle looked at Poppy. "Well, if we could find a secluded place in the woods—" she was interrupted when she faced her with a serious expression. "To what? Hide ourselves in the shadows? Pretend to be statues to the public eye?"
Poppy pointed at Michelle. "That would be the same thing as hiding inside this factory, and you know it in your heart, too," she continued.
Michelle frowned a bit as Poppy pulled her finger away before looking down. "I'm a grown woman inside a porcelain doll, your friends are made up of pink slime and blue dough, Kissy is an 18ft tall sock monkey..." she said. "We'll never be able to feel normal again even if we escaped outside with you."
Poppy trembled. "If a single person saw us in public... they'll try to take us apart again... trying to figure out what makes us tick..." she continued.
Tears fell from Poppy's eyes before they landed on the ground. "I don't want to relive those painful memories again... I don't want to be dissected like a frog again..." she said before covering her face with her hands. "It would've been better if we didn't exist to begin with..."
Kissy Missy made sad chirps as she knelt and wrapped her arms around Poppy before pulling her into a hug and petting her head. "If only I had a healthier body... my father wouldn't have to use science to bring me back to life like this..." she continued.
Poppy closed her eyes. "And I wouldn't have been a catalyst for this company's greed," she said. "And I know almost everyone in this room hates me because of it..."
The group remained silent and looked down as Poppy cried and trembled; Michelle twisted the knob, retracting the Conductive Hand inside her arm, and the red hand appeared before she stood up and approached the duo.
When Michelle was close to the duo, she gently placed her hands against Poppy's cheeks, which made her stop trembling and look at her. "That's the thing about us humans... we're very selfish creatures..." she said.
Michelle looked down. "The company being selfish for money, the Doctor and other scientists being selfish for science to move forward for the sake of progress, and even your father being selfish for finding a way to bring you back to life..." she continued.
Poppy remained silent and looked down. "But in the end... I guess I'm just as selfish as they are..." Michelle said.
The group looked at Michelle, surprised, as she wiped Poppy's tears away with her thumbs. "Because what I desire the most... is happiness..." she continued.
Michelle gently smiled at Poppy. "To see all of you standing outside of the factory, smiling and full of joy to see the outside world after spending time in this place for so many years... that would give me the greatest joy of all time..." she said.
Poppy stared at Michelle with widened eyes. "Being selfish may not be a great thing, but... it also isn't a horrible thing to be selfish for the right reasons..." she continued.
Poppy remained silent before looking down. "Even after everything that happened... the one thing I missed the most was my father's talks... he would always know what to say in certain situations..." she said before tears pricked her eyes. "Is it... wrong that I miss him?"
Michelle wiped Poppy's tears with her thumbs. "Not at all..." she said, which made her look at her. "Even though our parents made horrible mistakes in this place, it's not wrong to miss them... their mistakes were theirs, not ours..."
Michelle gently smiled at Poppy. "And in my opinion... despite all that he's done, your father was a far better man than the Doctor and Leith combined..." she continued.
Poppy stared at Michelle with awe before smiling at her. "Thank you for comforting me..." she said.
Michelle smiled and nodded as she pulled her hands away from Poppy before she looked at Kissy Missy. "You too, Kissy; I really needed that hug," she continued.
Kissy Missy made happy chirps. "You're welcome..." she said before standing up and placing Poppy on her shoulder.
Michelle smiled at the duo before looking at the stairs. "Now then, I think we've stalled in this place for too long," she said before looking at the group. "We need to head to the attic and make an opening; that's our only escape route."
The group nodded as most of them approached the stairs; as Poppy stared at Michelle, she realized something before looking down. "Our parents' mistakes?" she asked herself.
Kissy Missy turned her head to Poppy as she placed her hand against her chin. "That can't be right; my father was the one who owned this company..." she continued. "How would her parents...?"
Poppy remembered meeting Michelle in the maintenance closet with Huggy Wuggy. "My name is Michelle Mercia, but my friends called me Misha," she said.
As Michelle's last name repeated in Poppy's head, her eyes widened before she looked at her. "Misha," she said, which made her turn to her. "Your last name... is Mercia?"
Michelle looked at Poppy, confused. "Uh... yes," she said before rubbing the back of her neck. "I swore I told you that when we first met; why do you ask?"
As Poppy opened her mouth, the lights in the room flickered, which shocked the group, before they were completely off.
Glowby made worried noises as Michelle pressed the green button, turning the flashlight on. "Whatever you were gonna say will have to wait," she whispered before looking at Poppy. "Right now, getting out of this place is the top priority."
Poppy was hesitant, but nodded as the group climbed the stairs. Why didn't I realize it when she said her last name to me for the first time? she thought. Does she know... what this company did to her parents?